It's summertime once again, and that means berry season! It also means luscious, decadent berry desserts, filled with sugar, butter and topped with ice cream. Sound good? Of course, your taste buds scream "Yes!", but your waistline may not agree.
Summertime desserts don't have to be bad for you and laced with guilt. It is possible to take advantage of all the sweetness summer fruits have to offer without suffering any negative consequences, perhaps you will even benefit!
This strawberry shortcake recipe offers all the decadence of homemade whipped cream while drastically cutting the sugar of a traditional recipe. As and added reward, you will reap the benefit of eating summer strawberries which are high in both vitamin C and antioxidants!
Lighter Strawberry Shortcake
Yields 12 servings
Ingredients:
For the Strawberries
- 2 pints fresh, ripe (preferably local) strawberries
- squirt of lemon juice
- 1 tsp low calorie sweetener (optional)
For the Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ C heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tbs confectioners’ sugar
For the Biscuits
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbs baking powder
- pinch of salt (fine sea salt is good)
- 1 Tbs granulated sugar
- 1/3 C shortening (can replace some of shortening with butter, for taste)
- 1 C fat free milk
Method:
- For the Berries: Wash both pints of berries and cut off stems. Place in a small bowl.Squirt with lemon juice (a wedge is just fine) and sprinkle with sweetener. Toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- For the Biscuits: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut shortening into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Make a “well” in the center of the dry mixture and add the milk. Mix with a fork just until dry ingredients are moistened. As with a muffin batter, it is important not to over work the biscuits. Drop dough onto a cookie sheet covered with a silicone mat (12 biscuits). Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes, until a light brown. While the biscuits are baking, make the whipped cream.
- For the Whipped Cream: The colder the bowl you whip the cream in, the better it will whip. It is also helpful to use very cold heavy cream. Using a glass or stainless steel bowl and a hand or stand mixer, beat the heavy cream on high until soft peaks begin to form. Add the confectioners’ sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate the whipped cream until it is needed.
- Assembly: After the biscuits have cooled slightly on a rack, place each on a dish. Gently cut off the tops of the biscuits with a serrated knife. Place strawberries whole or sliced on the bottom half of the biscuit. Put biscuit top over berries. Top with a dollop of whipped cream. Use extra berries to garnish.
